Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained why he believes his team endured a disappointing AFCON campaign in Morocco earlier this year.
South Africa were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Cameroon, falling short of the bronze-medal finish they achieved in the previous tournament.
- ALSO READ: Le Roux Saves Best For Last As Pompey Boss Hails Bafana Midfielder
- Broos Makes Honest Admission About Lorch’s Bafana Exclusion
Despite securing two wins and a loss in the group stage, performances left many unconvinced.
Broos admitted he was dissatisfied, noting the absence of the “Bafana DNA” that defined their showing in Ivory Coast.
He suggested that World Cup qualification may have shifted the team’s focus, reducing their hunger and ambition for AFCON.
“We know the reasons why [we had a bad AFCON],” Broos told Robert Marawa on MSW.
“This is not something that we can’t re-install. I always talk about the DNA of the team, it was not there. And either way, you can understand it because I felt it a week after we qualified for the World Cup.
“Don’t forget that in two years, this team qualified for Ivory Coast [AFCON], Morocco [AFCON] and the World Cup, in two years.
“The main goal was going to the World Cup because it had been a long time. Everyone was focused on that without losing the two AFCONs before. But the moment we qualified for the World Cup [we took the foot off the pedal].
“That played a role afterwards, we were not focused enough on AFCON, we were not mentally ready, the DNA we showed in previous AFCONs and WC qualifiers wasn’t there.”
Did you know that the iDiski Times Digital Newspaper is completely free! Download it now by clicking the button below or fill in the form to have it sent to you every week.
